A year ago this month the parents of the boys rescued from a Thailand cave were still celebrating, and among them were the father and mother of a boy who is sponsored through Compassion International.
“Thank you so much for all prayers and all the encouragement,” the boy’s mother said in a video interview posted by the Christian ministry at the time. “Thank you to God. I’m really thankful that they found my son and all 13 [including the soccer coach] are alive. I’m so happy and so thankful to see my son again. Thank you so much to everyone that has been praying for us and the boys and helping us; thank you.”
The 12 boys and their soccer coach became trapped in the cave in June when it flooded. It required an international effort and a team of expert divers to save them.
READ: Chilean miner encouraged trapped Thai boys
The soccer team – the Wild Boars – still practices on a field at the Baag Jong Church, which also houses a Compassion International center. The center was used as a base for the rescue.
“As center director, I want to say thank you so much for all your prayers as we have heard that [the boy] is now safe inside the cave,” said the center’s director, known as Nasou. “I’m so thankful to God and know that they will come out very safely.”
Even before the successful rescue last year, Nasou said the parents were relying on prayer.
“Because the parents and I are seeing the rescue teams working hard, through the days and nights, that’s what is giving us hope,” Nasou said. “We have the strength to stay here at the cave site to see the boys. Many times the parents felt hopeless after they had been waiting and hearing that nothing had accomplished in searching for their boys. So, we didn’t know whether the boys were going to be alive or not. But we kept on praying constantly and really trusted God that they would be found alive. When we heard that they found the boys, that was the most exciting moment and giving us more hope.”
Michael Foust is a freelance writer. Visit his blog, MichaelFoust